President Jay Barnes participates in the installation ceremony for Amy Bragg Carey, Bethel alumna and 14th president of Friends University, Wichita, Kansas.

Bethel alumna Amy Bragg Carey ’85 was installed as the 14th president of Friends University, a Christian university of Quaker heritage in Wichita, Kansas, on October 16. Bethel University President Jay Barnes offered a prayer of dedication during the investiture ceremony.

“It is exciting to see our alumni take on significant leadership roles,” says Barnes. “Dr. Carey's selection to head Friends University was based on her excellent track record in leading at other institutions and her core values that were strengthened as a student at Bethel. As her friend, brother in Christ, president of her alma mater, and grandfather of a current Friends University student, it was an honor to pray over her as part of her investiture.”

Carey says she was drawn to Friends University because she feels a connection to the Christian mission and values represented there. “I see exciting opportunities ahead as we move forward to tell the compelling and important story of Friends University,” she says. “Education has transforming power, and it is through the influence of dedicated faculty and staff members such as those at Friends University that students’ lives are changed. I am honored to be called to serve as president.”

Carey, who most recently served as vice president for institutional advancement at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul, was announced as the next president over the summer, and she began the role on July 1. She graduated from Bethel in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in speech communication. She then went on to receive a master’s degree in philanthropy and development from St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota, and a doctorate of higher education leadership from Azusa Pacific University in California.